Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

BENJAMIN, Sathima Bea

(b 17 October 1936, Johannesburg SA; d 20 October 2013, Capetown) Singer with a warm creamy voice; influenced by Duke Ellington, she sang mostly standard repertoire, but also wrote and often included originals on recordings. She met her husband-to-be Abdullah Ibrahim (then called Dollar Brand) at a talent show '59; moved to Zurich '62, met her idol Ellington there '63 and three days later recorded with him and Billy Strayhorn for Reprise, with Johnny Gertze and Makhaya Ntshoko on bass and drums. The album was not issed and presumed lost until it finally came out on Enla as A Morning In Paris '96.

She and Ibrahim married in London '65; Ellington asked her to perform with him at Newport that year. Back in South Africa with two children, they moved to NYC after the Soweto riots '77, and started Ekapa Records '79 for their own recordings; she began managing her husband's career. Her own first album was African Songbird '76 on Sun Records, followed by Sathima Sings Ellington '79, Dedications '82 and Memories And Dreams '83, all on Ekapa; some of her albums were leased to U.S. labels. Windsong '85 appeared on BlackHawk. Lovelight '87 on Enja is one of her best, including 'Winnie Mandela -- Beloved Heroine', an accolade for Nelson's then-wife, before the worst stories about her became public knowledge; sidemen included Ricky Ford, Larry Willis, Buster Williams and Billy Higgins. Southern Touch '89 on Enja included Kenny Barron, Williams and Higgins. That was followed by Cape Town Love, and then Musical Echoes 2002 was her last album, with Stephen Scott on piano, Basil Moses and Lulu Gontsana on bass and drums.